Integrated Direct Marketing: The Ten Minute Solution

By
Stephen Webster

Over the past five years, marketers in many industries
have experienced a dramatic assertion of the maxim "the customer is
always right." Tantalized by the seemingly limitless possibilities of
e-mail marketing and blitz telemarketing, marketers using these tactics
have been pulled up short by consumer-driven anti-spam and "do not
call" campaigns.Chastened by consumers, sophisticated marketers have
been forced to re-focus on less intrusive marketing tactics.One tactic
in particular is making a serious comeback: welcome to the new world of
direct marketing.

The vital signs of direct marketing are healthy again, to say the
least.Advertising agency Universal McCann predicted that direct mail
spending alone reached $51.5 billion in 2004, up from $48.4 billion in
2003.And a September 2004 survey of marketers conducted by Kern
Direct, a direct marketing advertising agency, found that 56% intend to
increase spending on direct marketing this year.

Marketers' return to direct marketing has not come without technology
advances and new expectations.Today there is less tolerance for
traditional direct marketing, which at its worst was costly, took too
long to develop and execute, and delivered dubious ROI.Centralized
marketing organizations now need integrated direct marketing solutions
that are fast, flexible, targeted and measurable.And if these
organizations are marketing products and services through franchises,
distributors and/or sales representatives, they also need direct
marketing solutions that provide brand control.

In response to these needs, and with strategic input from its brand
name customers, Tactician has pioneered the development of a dynamic
Internet-based direct marketing solution called Tactician Direct.This
system, designed for use by marketers in a wide range of vertical
markets, can be used to launch direct marketing campaigns in less than
10 minutes and with very few mouse clicks.A wizard-based interface
walks users through the entire direct marketing process, sequentially
asking them to identify who they are mailing to, select what they are
mailing from a library of current branded literature, indicate where
the pieces will be mailed, and then decide when the campaign should be
mailed.The final step of the process is a single keystroke to order
the execution of the customized campaign.

By integrating the entire direct marketing process in this way, the
system provides a single tool for marketers to translate complex market
intelligence into the efficient execution of segmented direct marketing
campaigns.The system's simplicity and elegance was articulated
recently by independent consultant and Directions Magazine columnist
Hal Reid, after seeing a demonstration of its capabilities.

"Tactician has created some very good things in the management of
direct mail," he said."Click and you have a lifestyle variable and
geographical level you want to mail to.Click and select the
collateral.Click and adjust the piece for the target audience.Click
and get the total cost and production, fulfillment and mail costs.One
more click and it's done and in the mail."

Reid went on: "Needless to say I was impressed.All of this is now on a
new platform common to the web and the desktop, making the movement of
data, maps, etc.and the collaboration between the desktop and the web
almost seamless."

Tactician customers in retail, real estate, franchise and media markets
are using the system to solve five primary challenges.

Increased Sales Revenue
Targeted marketing campaigns can be executed at low cost, increasing
sales revenues over time through increased activity in customer
marketing.

Brand Control
Corporations using the system as a centralized marketing resource can
ensure complete brand control while giving franchisees and sales agents
the means to develop geo-targeted direct marketing campaigns within
minutes.

Co-Op Management
Franchisees and sales agents using the system can go online to access
their co-op credit balance to help them manage direct marketing
campaigns and materials.

Order Automation
With the ability to automatically manage the entire direct marketing
process for hundreds of users, the system eliminates the need for
manual production and complex program management.

Increased Response Rates
Tactician Direct is designed to provide higher direct marketing
response rates by combining segmentation and geographical targeting in
one solution.Companies that are able to pre-qualify targeted segments
and appropriate collateral can ensure the delivery of increased
marketing impressions to the right prospects.

The system's power is illustrated by its use as the platform for OSRAM
Sylvania's online direct marketing system.Together with parent company
OSRAM GmbH, OSRAM Sylvania is the second-largest lighting and materials
enterprise in the world.In the hotly contested U.S.lamp market, the
company has a proven track record of innovation in distributor
marketing programs.One of its newest marketing innovations is SYLVANIA
LeadsOnline, an easy-to-use integrated online target marketing service
available to its distributors at mySYLVANIA.com.

Sylvania's
LeadsOnline.Source: Sylvania.Click image for larger view.

SYLVANIA
LeadsOnline brings together all the elements of a direct
marketing program in one online service.OSRAM Sylvania's
LeadsOnline program won the 2004 Ted Magazine Direct Promotion Best of
the Best Award for suppliers larger than $250 million. In about 20 clicks, usually
taking less than 10 minutes, the wizard-driven service enables
distributors to target new business opportunities and quickly schedule
entire direct marketing campaigns.This includes the identification of
a target market segment, the choice of an appropriate, professional
direct mail piece from a menu of options, the ability to co-brand and
personalize the message or offer, and the selection of a date for a
direct mail marketing campaign to commence.

Key OSRAM Sylvania distributors have already experienced success using
SYLVANIA LeadsOnline.One top-twenty U.S.electrical distributor has
reported that it saw a significant boost in leads and sales in three of
five initial test markets.

The bottom line, according to Sharon Clement, marketing manager for
OSRAM Sylvania, is simply stated: "Tactician's system has helped us
streamline our direct marketing efforts with consistent and
professional mail pieces while saving valuable time for our business
partners."